SciLifeLab Anubis

In this call, the Drug Discovery and Development Platform (DDD) at SciLifeLab is looking for new project proposals for drug discovery. DDD supports a project portfolio consisting of about 20 programs and we foresee a need to replenish our portfolio with 3-5 new programs this year. We are interested in programs with defined targets for diseases with medical needs. Therapeutic ideas based on technologies that can be extended to other targets and/or other indications are of special interest, i.e. therapeutic platform technologies, as are projects to develop therapeutic molecules with innovative mode-of-actions (e.g., targeted delivery or new modes-of-action for antisense oligonucleotides, small molecules, antibodies and/or proximity-inducers).

SciLifeLab´s strategic area, Pandemic Laboratory Preparedness (PLP), has decided to launch a call to support development and refinement of technologies and capabilities aimed to improve the national pandemic preparedness

The total budget for the call is 24 MSEK (12 MSEK per year for two years) and maximum grant size that can be applied for is 3 MSEK (1.5 MSEK/year for two years).

Eligible applicants are either researchers from already established PLP units (grant recipients of the earlier PLP Calls), researchers at any swedish university with a strong track record in infection biology research relevant for pandemic preparedness, and researchers employed at SVA, FOI and FoHM that collaborate with one or several established PLP units. Collaborations within and across research units and governmental organizations are highly encouraged in general but each applicant can only be main applicant on one and co-applicant on one application. Projects must be performed in collaboration with a SciLifeLab infrastructure/platform to ensure sustainability for pandemic preparedness.

Please note that funding can only be transferred to a Swedish university, and that grants are not allowed to be transferred between collaborators or to external partners.

Deadline for applications: Monday August 25, 2025 at 14.00 CET. Start of funding: November 1st, 2025

Time period for funding: Oktober 2025 – September 2027, but granted funding can be used until April 1st, 2028.

For questions about the call, please contact alice.sollazzo@scilifelab.uu.se

This call is part of the PALS initiative, supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

With this call, PALS wants to support and promote scientific interactions between fellows from the different PALS programs and/or from different centers. The supported collaborations can involve research or other related activities in all areas of the different programs such as molecular medicine or different areas of life science and can be technology-driven or datadriven projects from fundamental, preclinical, translational, and clinical scientists. The supported collaborations, either a research project or an event in Sweden, organized and coordinated jointly by the fellows, should:

• add novelty
• be innovative and cross-disciplinary
• aim for either or several of the following: technology development, knowledge transfer, data transfer

This annual call will support collaborations with funding in a span between 100.000 and 500.000 SEK (including indirect costs), the total annual sum awarded is 2 MSEK.

This call is open only for the infrastructure units of SciLifeLab.

Nomination for SciLifeLab Group Leaders 2025

• There is one (1) nomination period per year.

• The nomination is for a 4-year term. The group leader status is re-evaluated every four years to ensure that the criteria continue to be met.

• Nominations are submitted individually, either by a candidate directly (self-nomination) or following invitation by a SciLifeLab founding university or site committee member. Nominees are encouraged to discuss their application with their respective Scientific Director/Integration Director (KI, KTH, SU, UU) or Site Directors (SciLiteLab Site Linköping, Lund, Gothenburg or Umeå), and should be submitted with support from the Head of Department

• The applicant must provide examples on concrete contributions to SciLifeLab´s activities (not to SciLifeLab:s strategic objectives in general). Example contributions are given in the SciLifeLab Group Leader Principles & Guidelines document (https://www.scilifelab.se/research/group-leader-definition/#h-definition.) Contributions within all five areas of SciLifeLab:s objectives are not required.

• A current position as SciLifeLab or DDLS Fellow, Platform Director, Platform Co-Director, or Head of Unit automatically includes the SciLifeLab Group Leader status, and therefore these individuals do not need to be nominated if their roles or assignments are in force (re-evaluation every 4-years still applies).

• Pre-screening and initial selection are conducted by SciLifeLab university and site committees.

• The SciLifeLab Strategic Management group evaluate and prepare a recommendation to the SciLifeLab Board, which makes the final decision.

• SciLifeLab aim for a minimum of 40% applications and approved nominations from the underrepresented gender

• Approved nominations are publicly announced on the SciLifeLab website.

All SciLifeLab Group Leader data (such as publications and other contributions) will be made public if the nomination is approved, and data will be used for web profile pages. It is the responsibility of the applicants to provide exact information.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process for SciLifeLab Group Leaders, please contact nomination@scilifelab.se. More information about the SciLifeLab Group Leader definition can be found here: https://www.scilifelab.se/research/group-leader-definition/.

SciLifeLab aims to support events within the scope of our fields of research, open to participants from all over Sweden. We aim to encourage collaboration among and between SciLifeLab infrastructure and researchers, as well as with external organizations, and increase awareness of SciLifeLab to the broader research community in Sweden and abroad. A SciLifeLab infrastructure platform/unit or a SciLifeLab group leader must be the organizer or a visible co-organizer.

Detailed information about the call can be found in the document Event support 2026